"What level are you? I made a faith build specifically for helping people out. It's a bit of a shame that a lot of the community leans towards invading these days. I've helped quite a few people out but it always seems to be the same 5 odd people catching up with me!"

I'm on level 12 (might be 13) at the minute. Just done a little grinding to up my dexterity so I can use the bow.

Don't worry, had found the wiki already, so now just a case of using it but not too much :0)

"You've gone into Dark Souls with too many modern day gaming preconceptions sadly"

Well, I did go on to say that I was still finding it compelling. I deliberately called the design choices 'frustrating' rather than poor / stupid / wrong - I acknowledge that these were a deliberate choice by the developers. Totally respect that, whilst still finding it frustrating.

Frustration isn't a bad thing however. In fact, it's something gaming can invoke better than any other creative industry. I've recently been playing a lot of Spelunky, which has the same level of self-discovery, experimentation, and punishment. Spelunky is my game of 2012 and one of my titles of this generation, so a little frustration won't put me off.

Oh, and one final post: thanks for the advice and encouragement everyone! Was sort of expecting, as the noobie, to be mostly ignored by everyone who's long since mastered this title. Nice to find people so enthusiastic about a game that they're willing to take the time to go through the basics :0)

I'll try not to spam the thread after the many inevitable and repeated deaths - I do want to feel like I've completed the game due to my own endeavour rather than just having a my hand held every step. All about that balance!

People are hungry to dish out advice in this thread - you'll have to tell them to not spoil it too much for you.
My advice, explore and retreat and invest your souls, most importantly in upgrading your gear but that comes later for you I guess. It's normal to spend 10 hours in the first 2 sections or so, if you don't spoil the game by reading or watching walkthroughs. It's about learning about the game - there is a lot to discover - try out different weapons. What's the advantage of heavy armour, can I stun my enemies, does it matter if I attack my enemy with a two-handed weapon and so on. Read item descriptions in your menu, they often tell useful stuff.

It's definitely worth mentioning some of the weapons and things one might not notice like the Claymore, it just depends. It's definitely worth mentioning the two somewhat hidden bonfires in TToGs as that area is fucking annoying and without them can be a real bastard.

The claymore comes into its own later really. I'd suggest you start considering what type of character you want to go for as weapon upgrading and the resources it requires can be a bit scarce at times.

Bah, first playthrough go dexterity and strength. Fuck magic and faith as you'll probably never find the high level offensive spells anyway. Just go dex/str/vit/end so you can use nearly all the weapons you find. Once you find out what type you like most, start specialising on your second playthrough onwards

I think I may have come across one of the fabled monsters spawned from a dropped item.. Totalling almost 200 hours now and an enemy I've never fought before. It looked like a red crab with silver on and it cast homing magic. Crazy stuff!

"What level are you? I made a faith build specifically for helping people out. It's a bit of a shame that a lot of the community leans towards invading these days. I've helped quite a few people out but it always seems to be the same 5 odd people catching up with me!"

I'm on level 12 (might be 13) at the minute. Just done a little grinding to up my dexterity so I can use the bow.

Don't worry, had found the wiki already, so now just a case of using it but not too much :0)

Good show! I checked my character and I'm at...level 70. I think I may have got carried away with the summonings a bit. I won't be much help until you're at about the half way point unfortunately.

As others have said stick to an offensive stat while pumping vit and end. Get that pyro glove upgraded as well. I can't speak for magic but pure faith is not recommended for beginners!

Well it's just Gwyn for me now, all other content has been devoured. After my cocky kill on first attempt with the 4 kings I feel I strolled down the kiln or whatever it's called - this was of no concern to my, eager for the challenge of those oh so shit scary at the start of the game black knights.... (You guys should of seen the fear in my eyes when I first squared up against the one in the undead burg, most fear I've felt in any video game. Ever!) I literally spat in their stupid deranged faces as I tore them new assholes with my divine claymore. Back flipping around their slow predictive attacks. As I stepped through the grey cloud and the ominous piano music commenced I literally uttered 'come and get it you fucker' under my breath, so sure was I of my victory against Gwyn......

Well what an arrogant prick my character has become, Gwyn has now smashed my stupid undead face in at least 10 times. I have got his health down below half once by rather embarrassingly cheesing him around some rock outcrops. Time for a rethink me thinks.

I love how this game has taught me lessons at every level, everytime I feel I'm in control it kicks my sorry ass into submission. Amazing.

@mumtoucherBefore you enter his lair, equip your heaviest armour, you want poise and protection, equip a good parry shield, like the heater shield or the black knight shield (good vs his fire damage).
Then learn his patterns. He has a grab attack, this one you have to dodge or move away from in time, other than that do the following.

He has a multitude of attack patterns and they come in rather quickly, he either goes for a two hit or three hit or maybe even four hit combo - no matter. Your best bet is to block the first attack of his combo and parry his follow up hit. That way you have a very good sense of timing. Heal after you did a successful riposte, or if you get too weak, move back to the stone pillars and try to make him waste one of his attacks, hiding behind a stone pillar and heal.

Good show! I checked my character and I'm at...level 70. I think I may have got carried away with the summonings a bit. I won't be much help until you're at about the half way point unfortunately.

As others have said stick to an offensive stat while pumping vit and end. Get that pyro glove upgraded as well. I can't speak for magic but pure faith is not recommended for beginners!

Well, I've taken care of what I think is the first boss (horned thing with a club, attacks you on top of a wall - drop attack and hacked away worked well) then I've got some crazy sword by following some of the written advice points and shooting the tail of some (currently?) unkillable dragon from the bottom of a bridge. Since then I've worked my way onward, killed some boar thing, a few nimble knights, and three massive (non-spawning) knights including a black armoured one in a church. Now reached another campfire (kindled) and found the blacksmith.

After all that, I assume I must be nearing the half way mark....right? ;0)

Speaking to the blacksmith I think I've got my head around the upgrade system. I've bought a weapon/grind box thing for future use.

Question: is it worth bothering fortifying standard weapons? My bow is a bit naff so I'm putting some thought into upgrading that...?

As for leveling - I'm keeping things fairly even, but I like the nimble/dexterous approach (better for running away!) I got my faith up to 12 so I could cast my healing spells (useful for deeper foraging into enemy territory) but think I'll generally keep the vit/strength/dex/endurance topped up.

Make sure you pick up the item near that large black armoured knight in the chuch, and save it for now.

Half way mark? Chortle

It's certainly worth upgrading standard weapons - you can take a lot of them to +15 (although the materials to take it from 14 to 15 are fairly rare). I'd have a play about with a few different types first, and then pick one (or a few) that you're happy using. You can take anything up to +5 as that just costs titanite shards (9), which you can buy with souls so you're not really wasting anything.

dont forget to upgrade your armour too, and mix and match bits to get the best protection you can overall.

Stat wise that sounds fine. You can't really go wrong with endurance and vitality, and if you like the nimble approach, go-go dex